Although I was not a M203gunner in the Infantry,I did fire one on a couple occasions. From what I remember they are pretty accurate with a little practice. The kick was not to bad either, no more than a 12 gauge shotgun with slugs or sabot rounds in it. I never fired the shotgun round out of it so I don't know how much recoil they had. I don't know about different models. The ones I shot were from the late eighties.
No Slack!

Originally Posted By MatthewDaugherty:
The kick was not to bad either, no more than a 12 gauge shotgun with slugs or sabot rounds in it. I never fired the shotgun round out of it so I don't know how much recoil they had.

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Note that the practice grenades (blue plastic noses filled with orange power that makes a big orange "puff" when it hits) have much less recoil than heavier, explosive rounds. Definitely more than a shotgun with slugs.
A popular way to shoot them is with the buttstock on the ground, like a mortar.
Also, the rifle sights are for the RIFLE; the 203 has a removable sight ladder that is intended for use with the launcher.
-Troy

One time during a CAX,
our happy
group of shooters
was given the [i]awful[/i]
task of assisting NBC
by lobbing 40mm gas grenades
at other elements
scattered about the Palms.
Two ended up cracking
by the end of the day.

I've shot plenty of them in the Corps. Troy is right on the money with his comment. The practice grenades have little recoil compared to the HE (High Explosive) or HEDP (High Explosive Dual Purpose) rounds. Those little buggers have a kick to them. Something more like a 10ga shotgun. The flechette rounds don't kick that bad nor do the "bee hive" rounds.
Most of our guys would tuck the rifle stock under their arm tightly and use the Leaf or Quadrant sights to aim.

Doesnt the M4 have a "grenade launching" position on the telestock that is supposed to give you a proper reach distance to the M203 trigger. Cause with the A2 stock it would be a little long for most shooters. I know from using shotguns that proper reach is important for dealing with hard recoil. Shorter is usually better than longer (for me anyways) but with a AR too short would get you hit in the face with the carry handle.
I'd love to shoot one just with TP, I would give just about ANYTHING to shoot some HE through one. Oh well (sigh) some things just werent ment to be.
As a side note, to anyone whos played Delta Force or DF2 on the computer, dont you hate it that the M203 has NO sights at all in it? I am just finally getting to be somewhat good at hitting some things with it.

Thanks for the replies. I've also been told that you can actually see the 40mm grenades fly through the air...? How's the HE bang like? Really loud? And wouldn't mounting a 203 on an M4 make it all really awkward to carry (i.e. front heavy)? Sorry, lots of questions, but I'm really interested in this weapon!
Also, if you've got any cool pics of the 203, post 'em up!!

I just bought a Colt M203, a dreaded reweld but for $600, heck I can live with it... Now if only the papers would hurry up...
And the funny thing is, not many people I know think it was a good buy... what do you think?

No man who refuses to bear arms in defense of his nation can give a sound reason why he should be allowed to live in a free country" T. Roosevelt

Originally Posted By JC:
I just bought a Colt M203, a dreaded reweld but for $600, heck I can live with it... Now if only the papers would hurry up...
And the funny thing is, not many people I know think it was a good buy... what do you think?

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you got a smoking deal I have seen then sale at $2300 new never seen a reweld for sale but I'm sure there still very expesive

[img]home.att.net/~satcong/wsb/media/18266/site12.jpg[/img]
I was issued the M79 along with my M16 because I could hit something with it. That's mine by the Browning .30 on one of perimeter defense positions.

Hey Bat, love the wombat gun ( was looking at some a week ago), we still use 'em, as for the .30, we use that too in our M113s with a T50 turret, along side a .50 M2. That phot would damn near fit in East Timor, but we have no flex mounts. Good photo Mate!

I have fired many rounds though the M203 and seen a lot of people fire the M203 underarm, but mortar style with the butt stock on the ground, Only seen that done like once or twice and that was to shoot flairs (hard as hell to see the leaf and cannot see the quadrant site). I really never noticed a big difference in the recoil of the various rounds, all the training rounds are ballistically matched (very close in weight) to the HE HE/DP rounds. Hence, POI/POA the sights being very close.

I carried one for awhile, hated the awkwardness of the rifle (20' barrel). I Probably wouldn't like it much on the M4 either. It was decently accurate out to about 300 meters if I remember. And, yes, I thought it kicked pretty good with the HE/HEDP rounds. Heres a few pics I found...
[img]http://www.webshots.com/photos/imgs3/12/2812-mid.jpg[/img]
[img]http://wsphotofews.excite.com/037/ve/Mm/ST/mt98592.jpg[/img]
KIWI